Pakistan Air Force

ARTICLES ABOUT PAKISTAN AIR FORCE BY DATE - PAGE 5

WASHINGTON: The United States is suddenly faced with the uncomfortable scenario of confronting the very same weapons and military hardware, including F-16 fighter jets, it has armed Pakistan with for decades. The unsavory prospect of having to take a crack at the its onetime ally has surfaced most starkly in the skies over the Afghan-Pakistan border this weekend after the Pakistan air force deployed its US-supplied F-16s to challenge the violation of its airspace by US drones, and in one case, an airborne assault that landed US navy Seals inside Pakistani territory.

WASHINGTON: The United States is suddenly faced with the uncomfortable scenario of confronting the very same weapons and military hardware, including F-16 fighter jets, it has armed Pakistan with for decades. The unsavoury prospect of having to take a crack at the its one-time ally has surfaced most starkly in the skies over the Afghan-Pakistan border this weekend after the Pakistan Air Force deployed its US-supplied F-16s to challenge the violation of its airspace by US drones, and in one case, an airborne assault that landed US Navy Seals inside Pakistani territory.

ISLAMABAD: The US has approved the delivery of 20 T-37 refurbished jet trainer aircraft to Pakistan's air force. The US government is providing the used aircraft free of cost to Pakistan, which will only have to bear the shipment costs. The delivery of the aircraft was authorised by the US administration yesterday. Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, has said the Pakistan Air Force had sent a formal request for the aircraft last year. The T-37 twin engine trainer aircraft are from the US Air Force's inventory and are being refurbished before being supplied to Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD: The US will hand over four more F-16s to the Pakistan Air Force on July 28. These jets have reportedly been upgraded and modified to the extent that they will perform just like new F-16s. A ceremony for handing over of the planes to the Pakistan Air Force will be held at the PAF Base Mushaf, reported The News. Last month, the Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Operations), Air Marshal Rao Qamar Suleiman, had received four 'Fighting Falcons' from Lt Gen Gary L North, Commander 9th Air Force, and the USAF Central Command while four were received last year.

Islamabad: Pakistan will receive four F-16 fighter jets on June 28 from the US, out of the total 28 jets which Washington agreed to supply to it in 2005. This will be the second lot of fighter jets which Pakistan will be receiving. Earlier, the US delivered two F-16 aircrafts to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). "With handing over of four more F-16 on June 28, it is hoped that the remaining aircrafts embargoed by the US would also be delivered soon," the Daily Times quoted sources as saying.

MUMBAI: Aviation buff and Tata group chairman Ratan Tata will fly in an F-16 fighter jet at the Aero India show in Bangalore on Thursday. Mr Tata is among the few corporate chieftains in a list of primary defence and IAF officials, who will check out the multi-role fighter plane at the show. The move to get Mr Tata to fly on the plane is being seen as a coup for the Maryland-based Lockheed Martin, especially after Mr Tata's recent success with the Corus takeover. The 69-year-old Mr Tata, a keen flier who pilots his own fleet of corporate jets that includes the Falcon 2000, has already undergone a fitness test for the flight, sources said.

US aviation manufacturer Lockheed Martin has offered to build 'exclusive' F-16 fighters for the Indian Air Force, much superior to any existing fighters in service world over. "If India's requirements are beyond any existing fighters, we are prepared to make upgraded F-16s to India's specifications with complete transfer of technology," Mike Kelly, senior executive of Lockheed Martin said in comments that assume importance after US administration's decision to clear sales of high-technology fighters to India and Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD: The United States will give six C-130 military cargo planes to Pakistan as part of defence assistance committed under the three-billion dollar aid granted by US President George W Bush during his Camp David meeting with President Pervez Musharraf. The new planes, to be manufactured by US aircraft firm Lockheed Martin, will be handed over to Pakistan in two years, Deputy Chief of US Mission in Pakistan, William T Manoroe, told the media here yesterday. An agreement to this effect, which was signed by US Ambassador Nancy Powell and a senior Finance Ministry official of Pakistan, also provides for complete upgradation of cockpit avionics for the current Pakistan Air Force C-130 fleet, the US embassy here said in a statement today.

NEW DELHI: In a new twist to the probe into the recent aircrash in Pakistan which killed the air chief and top Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officers, it has now been learnt that the pilot was changed at the last moment and villagers near the crash site had heard gunshots and found a Kalashnikov and bullets nearby, diplomatic sources said on Sunday. The inquiry committee, headed by Air Vice Marshal Khalid Chowdhury, has found that the pilot of the ill-fated plane was changed barely 20-25 minutes before take-off, they said.

LONDON: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has officially acknowledged what was known in India: there has been no panic rush from that country despite strong and repeated warnings from Britain. Straw was drawn into making that admission when Ben Chapman, MP, raised fears about the safety of his daughter in Chennai. Chapman said his daughter could not return to London because all flights are full. Straw replied: "I know my friend is not seeking to make a special plea for his daughter, but such an example is a useful way of illuminating what may be a problem.